Latrobe City Council Mayor, Sharon Gibson, has expressed her frustration and disappointment that the City has again been overlooked in the Victorian Government’s latest funding allocation for the Community Connectors Program, despite experiencing some of the highest rates of crime and social harm in the state.
The program funds the deployment of frontline outreach workers to major public transport hubs to support vulnerable people experiencing mental health crises, homelessness, trauma, or substance use. The initiative aims to de-escalate incidents and connect people with vital support services before situations worsen.
Mayor Gibson said the exclusion of regional communities from the expanded community safety program was “deeply concerning”.
“If the Community Connectors Program funding is genuinely being directed to where it is needed most, then the Victorian Government must explain why Latrobe continues to miss out when communities with lower rates of offending and social harm receive additional support,” she said.
“According to the Victorian Government’s Crime Statistics Agency*, Latrobe City recorded higher rates of all criminal incidents, violence crime and family violence than Brimbank, Greater Dandenong and Maribyrnong – the three municipalities the government has just selected for its new $7 million targeted harm-reduction response.
“In fact, Latrobe’s violent crime rate was more than double that of Brimbank and Maribyrnong, and our family violence rate was around two to three times higher than all three councils.
“In addition to the crime stats, over the past decade, our rate of drug-related ambulance attendances was 93% higher than Brimbank, 43% higher than Greater Dandenong and 30% higher than Maribyrnong.
“Given this is a state election year, should I be concerned that the latest Victorian Government community safety funding has been allocated to Labor-held LGAs with lower crime rates than Latrobe?”
Mayor Gibson said the Council has consistently advocated for Community Connectors across Moe, Morwell and Traralgon, additional Protective Services Officers at major transport hubs and increased police resources.
More than 12 months ago, Council met with Minister for Police and Community Safety Anthony Carbines to discuss the need for targeted regional support. During that meeting, the Minister indicated he would visit Latrobe City, along with the Police Commissioner, to better understand local challenges, the Mayor said. She said neither visit has since occurred.
“We welcomed that commitment, but unfortunately the visit never happened.”
“The invitation remains open. It is difficult to understand how government decisions about community safety funding can be made without those decision-makers actually taking the time to visit communities and speak directly with local stakeholders to learn about the challenges and impacts firsthand,” the Mayor said.
In May, the Council endorsed a CBD Safety Outreach Program Plan and identified community safety as a key State Election advocacy priority.
“We have presented the evidence and advocated strongly on behalf of our community,” Mayor Gibson said.
“We are simply asking for fairness. The need exists. The evidence exists. The advocacy has been ongoing. What is missing is action from the Victorian Government.
“We continue to hear from community members who are concerned about safety in and around our key transport hubs. Residents are telling us they do not feel safe, and they are calling for greater support and intervention.
“Latrobe residents deserve action and we need it now.”
*Source: www.crimestatistics.vic.gov.au.
